


new history of time

by mozaikmage



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blind Date, F/F, F/M, First Dates, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26241853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mozaikmage/pseuds/mozaikmage
Summary: Forthe Webcomics Review'sweekly prompt: "A Time Traveler has a blind date, and goes back in time intending to ruin the all previous romantic encounters the date ever had, so that the Time Traveler looks better by comparison."
Kudos: 3





	new history of time

**Author's Note:**

> I've been in a bit of a writing slump so if you're waiting on an update for No Dialogue Options, I'm very sorry but it's just. Not happening right now. My brain is on vacation.  
> This was written in 48 hours as part of the contest. Please enjoy.

“When is the last time you went on a date?” Nisha asked, her strawberry-shortcake covered fork pointing accusingly between Tacy’s eyes.

They were getting dessert at Nisha’s favorite Cloverleaf Cafe for their monthly Best Friend Catch-up Brunch, and halfway through recounting her last hook-up Nisha realized that Tacy had not contributed any hook-up deets to their conversations in way too long.

Tacy winced. “God, uh... two years, I think? The girl from the North End branch of the public library.” She took a bite of her own chocolate cake. 

“That is incredibly depressing. I am depressed on your behalf. What was wrong with her?” Nisha stuck her fork back in her cake and took another bite. "You’re an archivist, she’s a librarian, match made in Heaven, I should think.”

“We started arguing about Star Wars and it got pretty heated. She had some...  _ strong _ opinions on the sequel trilogy.” 

“Yikes. Say no more.” Nisha slammed her fork down to the table with a note of finality. “I’m gonna set you up again. I have a single friend who’s your type, and he’s free on Saturday. You’re off on Saturday, right?”

“Uh, technically, but there might be some kind of emergency and they might make me come in...” Working at the Time Institute meant, paradoxically, that Tacy didn’t really have a lot of time to meet people. “Plus my student loan payments are kicking in so I don’t really have a lot of spare cash for dates...”

“What kind of emergency requires the presence of an archivist?!” Nisha demanded. But Nisha worked in an office, so maybe she didn’t understand. 

“It’s the Time Institute, Nisha, shit happens.” Tacy sipped her tea. 

“Whatever.” Nisha tapped her phone furiously. “Saturday night, be there or be square.” She slid the phone across the table.

A chiseled, handsome face grinned up at Tacy from the Facebook profile. Kyle Morais, Oxford alumni, investment banker, fluent in three languages, world traveler—

“What do you think I have in common with someone like that? And how do you even know this guy?”

“We were in debate club together in high school. You both like old black-and-white movies and biographies of famous writers! You both think art museums are a good date! But most importantly...” Nisha leaned across the glass table and whispered conspiratorily. “If you married him, you would never have to think about your student loans again.”

Tacy had a master’s degree. Which meant a lot of loans. The decision was simple. “Okay, I’ll go.” Tacy said. “Not only that, but since you want to see me paired up so badly, I’ll make this the best date he’s ever been on.”

Nisha raised her eyebrows. “I haven’t seen you this determined in a while, Tace.”

“I’ve been looking for a new project,” Tacy admitted. “And knitting got boring.”

So Tacy prepared for this blind date like a final exam. She added Kyle on Facebook to confirm meeting time and location, and backread through all of his social media posts for the past five years. Kyle, she noticed, didn’t seem to date much either, which is probably why Nisha had thought of him for Tacy. But he had a few vague posts that seemed to imply date-like scenarios, and Tacy noted the dates, times and locations of every post. The last date he went on was two years ago, like Tacy herself.

Working as an archivist at the Time Institute turned out to involve a lot more overtime and a lot less hanging out with rugged cavemen and knights in shining armor than the Indeed posting had promised her, but Tacy didn’t mind. Cataloging the artifacts the Investigators brought back with them was more fun than working in the dusty basement archives of some private liberal arts college like the rest of her graduating class. The archives of the Institute made Tacy feel full of purpose the way nothing else ever had before.

What being an archivist didn’t give her was access to the time machines. Sure, she knew where they were and how they worked, but actually using one required a separate certification process Tacy couldn’t afford to go through.

However.

When Tacy explained what she was planning to do to her favorite coworker, Investigator Maureen Cho, Maureen cackled and told her “That’s so chaotic, I love it.” Maureen checked her pockets for her access cards, still holding back laughter. ”You want to sabotage all of your blind date’s previous first dates to make yourself seem better by comparison? Highly inadvisable, of course, but I’m dying to see how this turns out.”

Maureen did not hand over her access card, but she walked Tacy to the time machine bay and swiped her into one of the empty pods, tapping the time and place Tacy gave her into the touch pad. “I’m dropping you in an alley behind the restaurant. When you get out of the pod, turn right and walk forward until you see tables. Leave your phone here, time traveling melts the circuits. If it didn’t I’d ask you to record everything.” 

“Thank you, Maureen. I’ll make it up to you one day.” Tacy dropped her phone in Maureen’s hand and stepped into the pod.

Time traveling didn’t feel like anything, Tacy was disappointed to discover. The pod looked like a modernistic shower stall without any shower functions, and clouded glass all around. The lights flashed, the door opened again, and she was no longer in the sterile white hall of the Institute but in an urban alley she recognized as leading onto the main street of their town. The newspaper stand on the corner let her know the date was two years in the past.

Tacy turned right and walked forward briskly, until she saw Kyle Morais. 

He looked like his profile pictures and was sitting at an outdoor table opposite an artsy-looking girl with hair dyed green at the tips. Tacy hadn’t expected that to be his type. The table opposite them was empty, so Tacy took a seat, held up the huge menu in front of her face, and waited.

The artsy-looking girl revealed that her name was Laurie and she liked Italian food, before the conversation was stolen from her, never to be returned. Kyle went on about his job (fantastic) his celebrity connections (extensive) and his vacation home on Martha’s Vineyard (huge). 

Tacy could hardly believe her eyes. And this is who Nisha was going to set her up with? Has Nisha even seen this guy since their high school days?

Well then.

Tacy had originally planned to make Laurie look bad, but now that she was here...

Tacy crawled under the table, the long white tablecloth hiding her from view as she changed into a waiter’s uniform and hid her hair under a baseball cap. She stuffed her old clothes into her backpack and crept towards the main restaurant building.

Inside was chaos: loud, bright, people rushing this way and that. No one paid any mind to Tacy as she grabbed a bowl of tomato soup out of a waiter’s hands and said some flimsy excuse. The waiter seemed confused, but let it happen.

She walked back outside. Laurie was scrolling through her phone as Kyle kept talking, gesturing with a half-full glass of red wine.

Tacy stopped. What if, by dumping tomato soup all over him, she’d make Laurie feel bad for him and stick around? What if he sues the restaurant with all his money and connections and gets them shut down? 

She needed to go a bit smaller, Tacy decided, and kicked Kyle’s chair with one foot. 

The red wine splashed out and landed on his white shirt. Kyle cut off mid-sentence and stared in horror at the spreading stain. Laurie put a hand over her mouth, but seemed to be holding back a giggle.

“Oh no, I am so sorry,” Tacy said unsympathetically. “The bathroom’s to your right when you walk in.” 

Kyle scowled and stormed off. Tacy, meanwhile, grinned at Laurie. “I overheard some of your date and, well, I’ve definitely been there before.”

Laurie laughed, a bright, cheerful sound, before picking up her purse and standing. Her shirt was really cool, Tacy noticed. “Thanks for the save. I’m going to escape while he’s distracted. I’m Laurie, by the way. What’s your name?”

Tacy pulled off her cap. “I go by Tacy.”

“Well then. See you around, Tacy.” Laurie smiled and left. 

After a few minutes, Tacy went back down the alley to the time machine. She stopped short a few feet away.

Someone with green hair was stepping into the time machine.

Tacy sprinted forward. The door, which Laurie was sliding shut, froze and opened back up again. “Oh, it’s you again. I think your pod is the one behind mine. You’re from July, right? I’m from September of the same year. I’m a new hire, that’s why you probably didn’t recognize me. We haven’t met yet.”

Tacy blinked. “What.” Did she just... “Did you use your time travel clearance to have a bad date with a rich guy?”

Laurie rolled her eyes. “I heard from Maureen about your plan (after it happened, of course), and I know someone who knows Kyle, so I set this all up to meet you. I wanted to find out what kind of weirdo would time travel for this.” She had earrings shaped like silver feathers, and glittery eyeliner. Much too cool for the Time Institute.

“And?” Tacy could barely breathe. “What do you think?”

Laurie stepped closer. “I think you’re a very interesting weirdo indeed, Miss Archivist.” She leaned back. “Anyway, I’ll be going now. See you in two years and a few months!” Laurie’s pod slid shut and silently slipped back into the timestream it belonged to.

Tacy stared at the empty space for a moment, then entered her own pod.

She cancelled the date with Kyle, and decided to wait. September wasn’t that far away.

  
  



End file.
